With the pressures of a new race season upon him, Morgan Shepherd spent part of his weekend taking a stroll down memory lane. And he said he wouldn’t have missed for experience for anything.
Shepherd was one of our special guests who attended a surprise 80th birthday party for Nina Cox, the widow of former NASCAR car owner Marion Cox.
Cox, who still recalls her days at the race track vividly, said she nearly cried when she saw Morgan Shepherd, David “Dink” Widenhouse, Billy Scott and Haskell Willingham at the party.
“Those four boys drove for Marion. They were all such good boys,” Mrs. Cox said.
Mrs. Cox, said she still thinks about each of the drivers who sat in the seat of her husband’s #50 NASCAR Sportsman Series car during their racing days in the 1960s and 70s. She still brags on the strengths each one brought to the team.
“That Morgan. When it came to setting up cars he was good at it,” Mrs. Cox said. “He was one of those that could make something when you had nothing. He came from the old school.”
Mrs. Cox’s husband, Marion, earned the nickname “Preacher” during his Saturday night racing days for his unwillingness to participate in races which took place on Sundays.
“That’s why we never ran in the Grand National Series because Marion wouldn’t race on Sunday,” she said.
Marion, who died of Alzheimer’s Disease in 1996, loved racing. The couple’s son, Mike, followed their foundation in the sport. He is now the director of the UARA Racing Series.
“Marion loved racing and had an awful lot of drivers race for him,” Mrs. Cox said. “He was one of those who started them out and then they went on up to the Grand Nationals.”
Shepherd said being part of Friday night’s celebration of Mrs. Cox was a joy for himself and wife, Cindy.
“I had a great time,” he said. “There were so many memories and stories told.”
Shepherd said one of his favorite memories of the Cox family was in the 1970s when a Sportsman race ran long due to several delays.
“Marion ran out on the track and pulled his car in at midnight,” Shepherd said of the “Preacher.” “He said Sunday starts at midnight and his car needed to be parked.”
Happy 80th Birthday Mrs. Cox!
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